Passion 4 Him

Prophecy Is God still speaking to His church through direct revelation? Is the office of prophet still operational in the body of Christ today? Charismatics teach that we are still receiving direct revelation from God. Many Charismatics are uncomfortable regarding the idea that modern prophecy is equal with Scripture. Therefore, they have developed the notion that New Testament prophecy is somehow a lesser revelation. In order properly to answer these questions, we must answer the question, what is prophecy? In order to disprove the popular Charismatic conception of the New Testament prophet as giving forth revelation that is something less than Scripture, we must examine the continuity between the Old Testament prophet and the New Testament prophet. The passage which sets forth the divine legislation which defined the office of prophet is Deuteronomy 18. Note that the true prophet speaks the very words of God: whatever the Lord has commanded him to speak. The prophet...

Since God delivered man from the Dark Ages, a debate has raged among Catholics and Protestants concerning the one true church, and the foundation upon which it is built. For centuries, the Catholic Church has maintained that Jesus Christ founded His church upon the apostle Peter, and that the papacy represents an "unbroken" line of apostolic succession from Peter to the present day. Supposedly, all those who do not submit to the authority of Peter (i.e. the popes) are in rebellion against Christ and God. Even today, this belief keeps many Catholics bound in the Catholic faith. The debate begins in Matthew chapter 16 where Jesus said, "… whom say ye that I am?" "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this...

Tongues One practice that all Pentecostals and Charismatics hold in common is the practice of speaking with tongues. Since there are differences of opinions regarding what tongues are and how they should be used in public worship and private devotions, we will deal only with views which are common within the Charismatic movement. Charismatics generally hold to three different uses of tongues. First, most Charismatics argue that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit.  [15] They regard the historical occurrences in the book of Acts (ch. 2, 10, 19) as normative for the church for all ages. Second, tongues are to be used in public worship for the edification of the body. These public tongues must be interpreted or translated, so that the edifying message can be understood by all. (In many Charismatic churches, people blurt out “tongues” which are never interpreted.) Charismatics differ over whether or not...

Pornography is tearing apart the fabric of our society. You may think this is an overstatement. After reading, "The Social Costs of Pornography" by the Witherspoon Institute, I think it may be an understatement . In 2008, the Witherspoon Institute sponsored the first multidisciplinary exploration of the social costs of pornography. Scholars from various fields including philosophy, psychology, and medicine were included in the forum. Every major shade of religious belief was represented, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, agnosticism, and atheism. And both the left and right in American politics were present. They all agreed that there is a substantial multidimensional, empirical record of the harms pornography brings to society. Obviously, such agreement is rare. Today's pornography is different from any in the past in three ways. (1) Accessibility .  The Internet has made porn ubiquitous. (2) Quality . Today's porn is much more hardcore. ...

Introduction The Charismatic movement is one of the most popular and growing forces within Christendom today. The major doctrinal distinctives of the Charismatic movement—the baptism in the Holy Spirit, tongues-speaking, prophecy, the gift of healing and the emphasis on having a personal experience—are primary reasons for the movement’s growth and popularity. While growth and popularity are certainly desirable, they cannot be used as a test for truth-claims, because various cults (e.g., Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons) and false religions (e.g., Islam, Eastern mysticism) have also witnessed great popularity and growth. The Charismatic movement is a twentieth-century phenomenon. Since the teachings and practices of the Charismatic movement are different than what orthodox Christians have taught for 19 centuries, we believe it is wise to examine these teachings under the light of Scripture. We are not saying that Charismatics are not Christians. And we are not examining th...